Unexpected Miracles
by keepcalm.and.read
Summary: A series of random one-shots in no particular order, set after 3x10. Lydia leaves a surprise that will change Jane and Maura's world unexpectedly for the better.
1. Chapter 1

Jane slid her key into the doorknob using the light from her cell phone to cut the darkness. She opened the door slowly. The whole house was dark. She eased inside, securing the latch as she did so. The click made Jane cringe. It sounded so loud in the silence of the house.

She removed her boots carefully, placing them next to the door. Her stomach began to gurgle, but hunger didn't seem like it was going to win out over exhaustion.

Jane shuffled through the hall on tiptoes, passing the nursery door to her right. She felt a familiar tug at her heart as she thought of Conner nestled under his blanket in the crib. She had only gotten to see him this morning on her way out as Maura fed him his morning bottle. Frost found a break in the case, a break that led to a fifteen hour work day.

She paused in the doorway, the soft, light blue glow of the lamp called to Jane. All she wanted to do was take him from the crib, kiss his forehead and smell the sweet aroma of the expensive baby wash Maura insisted upon using due to its "hypoallergenic qualities and sulfate-free organic formula." Jane liked to pester her about it. She would never admit it to Maura, but she secretly loved the smell.

She took one step inside of the room, but instantly changed her mind. There was a chance that she might wake him and she knew that she couldn't hold her eyes open long enough to get him back to sleep. Not only that, but she had no idea what kind of day Maura had endured.

With that in mind, Jane left the nursery and moved down the hall. She noticed that Maura's door was cracked slightly and a small stream of dim light tumbled out into the hallway. Jane walked over to it, wondering if she would find Maura reading a book or something.

She peeked in, only to find Maura lightly snoring with Conner sleeping soundly atop her chest. She smiled, not wanting to disturb anything, and moved back to the guest room which had basically become her room to change. She slid into a large t-shirt and a pair of old cotton pajama pants. She grabbed her phone and moved back to Maura's room. This time, she eased her body inside, careful to avoid the floorboards that she knew squeaked.

She gazed down at Maura. Jane could tell that she was equally exhausted. Her left hand rested upon Conner's tiny back, his chest rising with tiny, even breaths. Jane snapped a picture with her phone, her eyes lingering on the screen and delaying the task at hand.

Never in a million years did she imagine that she would love that little boy as much as she did. While Jane could not stand her and she hated what she had done, she would always be grateful to Lydia for leaving Conner on Maura's doorstep.

The moment was so incredibly sweet that Jane hated to be the one to break it up, but she knew that Maura would wake up concerned that he had slept on his stomach, something about SIDS, and be upset with herself for falling asleep.

Jane sighed and slid her hand under Conner's stomach, lifting gently as she positioned her hand on his chest for more leverage. Maura's eyes fluttered open and she gasped, pulling Conner closer to her body. Jane placed her free hand on Maura's arm.

"Maura, it's just me. It's ok."

Maura relaxed back into the mattress, relinquishing her hold on the baby.

"I thought he was rolling off of the bed," she muttered in a gruff voice.

"No, I'm just moving him back to his crib. Go back to sleep."

Maura nodded, and closed her eyes again. Jane re-positioned the baby in her arms and turned off Maura's lamp.

She deposited Conner in his crib. His tiny pink lips parted and he let out a small cry. Jane grabbed his pacifier off of the dresser and eased it into his mouth. She kept her fingers on it lightly, allowing him time to latch on. He sucked contentedly and Jane could not deny the relieved feeling that washed over her.

She turned to see Maura standing in the doorway.

"Maura, what are you doing?"

"I wanted a glass of water." Maura ran her fingers through her mussed hair. "And I forgot to brush my teeth." _And I wanted to talk to you._

"How was he all day?" Jane had worried about Maura being home completely alone with him for the first time. Not because she didn't know how to take care of him, but because neither had even been completely alone with him before. Even if Jane or Maura was out, Angela was always near-by.

"He was a little fussy today. I administered infant simethicone drops twice, and it seemed to help. I just hope he isn't getting colicky."

"Me too." Jane turned the baby monitor on and both women left the room and turned towards the kitchen.

"I'm really sorry it took so long today."

"It's ok. They didn't need me in the lab, so I actually got the whole day off."

"Well hopefully I won't be needed tomorrow. Cavanaugh gave me and Frost the day because we worked so long today, unless of course we get called in."

Jane sank to the barstool, leaning her face against both of her palms.

"I should only have to go in for a few hours tomorrow." She noticed how tired Jane looked as she poured herself a glass of water.

"What did you two do today?"

"Conner had a bath and we went to the grocery store. That was an adventure." Maura laughed at the memory.

"Wow, how was that?"

"I was worried because I had never taken him anywhere by myself before, but it proved to be very simple. I used the baby sling; it proved to be quite useful. He slept the whole time." Maura pulled the plate she had made earlier for Jane out of the fridge assuming that she would be hungry.

"I refuse to use it."

"Why? It allows him to remain snuggled into your body, relaxing him, and still allows you the function of both hands." Maura placed the plate in the microwave.

"It looks dumb."

"While it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing baby item, it was incredibly helpful today. I thought that it would be strange going places with him, but it wasn't at all."

The microwave beeped and Maura took the plate out. She set it in front of Jane and got her a fork.

"Thanks."

"The baby sling caught a lot of attention. I had several people ask to see the baby."

"That's why men use babies to pick up women."

Maura laughed, "Well that certainly wasn't my goal, but I can tell you that it would've worked had it been."

Jane tensed at the statement but couldn't really explain why.

"Were you uncomfortable having people come up to you like that?"

"I don't mind showing him off. He's beautiful." _Like you_, she kept to herself.

Jane smiled. "You're really good with him."

"You are too." Maura placed her empty cup in the dishwasher.

"I couldn't do it without you, you know."

"I know," Maura quipped

"So modest."

"Jane, you're my friend. You needed help."

"On second thought, I could've probably managed."

Maura shot Jane a disapproving look, but she knew that she was joking.

"I wanted to help. I love you two."

Jane smiled, knowing that she couldn't have done it without Maura. She thought back to the first week of taking care of Conner, when she was trying to make it work in her apartment. Maura helped her with the late-night feedings, the endless diaper changes—Jane would not have been able to do all of this without her.

"I know. Thank you, Maura."

"I'm going to go brush my teeth. I'll be right back."

Jane nodded and Maura could tell that she needed to sleep more than anything.

Maura had to admit, the last six weeks had been new and challenging, but she had never been happier. She had liked her life before, but everything was just, better now. Maura no longer came home to an empty house.

Lydia had given Maura a sweet little boy to care for and love, but she had also given her Jane. For once, Maura felt like she had a family of her own.

She moved to the bathroom, noting the obvious changes. There was a small light blue baby bath in the corner of her bathroom, a stack of baby wash rags on the counter, and a basket of various infant grooming tools, baby fingernail clippers, soft bristle infant brush, etc.

A smile danced upon her lips. She loved these changes in her life, even if she did feel tired most of the time. It was worth it.

She brushed her teeth and joined Jane once more in the kitchen.

Maura observed that half of Jane's food had been eaten, but she was passed out on the counter. She ran her right hand across her back to wake her. Jane's head popped up in alarm.

"Why don't you go to bed? I'm going to bed right now myself."

Jane nodded and picked up her plate.

"I'll take it. You just get some sleep."

Maura cleared the plate and placed it in the dishwasher as well. She checked to make sure that Conner had clean bottles for his inevitable evening feedings and moved back to her room. She noticed that Jane's door was closed. A part of her wished that she could go in and lay with her, but she fought the urge.

The clock by her bedside read 11:19. She knew that she would be up again in an hour to feed Conner. She turned the second pillow to lie vertically against her back and curled into a ball. She was asleep soon, but not without first thinking she wished that Jane could be the pillow behind her.

**Hope you all liked it! I just had to have some sort of outlet after the finale! I love the idea of Rizzles babies so much!  
I'll most likely write more, but there will be no order or anything to them. :) Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please don't hate me for this, I promise an update of Brookside, 1954 is on the way, I just needed an outlet for my baby feels! Rizzles fluff is the perfect way to heal Grey's Anatomy wounds…I'm just saying.**

How many times had she assured her mother and Maura that she could handle the night alone with him? Ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty, she was regretting that now. She knew that it would be difficult, but if she was going to have to be the one to step up and care for Conner then she would simply have to learn to care for him without any help. She couldn't burden her mother every time that he cried, or call Maura every time that he whimpered to make sure that he wasn't hurt or sick. No, she had to learn to do this alone if she was going to care for him.

The independent thoughts seemed to have dissolved at the moment. Jane glanced at the clock, 1:17 am. _I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. _She held a wailing Conner in her arms, bouncing him lightly, humming a tune that she had heard from her mother on numerous occasions. He squirmed, arching his back towards the floor, his tiny fists shaking with his bottom lip as loud wails spilled into the tiny apartment. Jane moved him around in her arms, trying to find a position that brought him some sense of peace.

"It's ok, baby." She eased his head onto her shoulder, patting his back and rubbing smooth, comforting circles to calm him. Nothing was working. She wasn't sure that she could do this. She began to run through the checklist of the potential problem. _Hungry, no. He ate thirty minutes ago. Not wet. I burped him already, so it can't be gas. He won't take his pacifier._

"I just-I just don't know what to do for you," she said, her voice cracking, a mixture of exhaustion and emotion. She started walking in a circle, around the kitchen, into the living room, around the sofa, back to the kitchen. She glanced at the clock once more. 1:33 am. She fought the urge to cry as his only grew louder.

Jane glanced over at her cell phone, fighting the urge to call Maura. _No, I need to handle this on my own,_ she mentally chastised. She nodded to herself, a little of her confidence returning as she noticed the green, plastic bathtub on the counter. _Maybe it will calm him down._ Having exhausting all of her other options, she grabbed the tub and began to fill it with an inch of warm water. Maura had already explained that he couldn't be submerged until the umbilical cord fell off. Jane had inwardly cringed, not even wanting to look at the odd, shriveled stump.

She stripped him of his onesie and diaper and tested the water with her wrist. It felt ok, so she eased his tiny body into the tub, remembering how afraid she had been at first. Now, it was nothing, even as he continued to cry. She cradled his tiny head in her right palm and used her left to move the water over him. It wasn't helping anything. Jane hung her head in defeat. There was only one thing left to do.

Jane exhaled sharply, feeling awful at her inability to calm him. She slid him out of the water and bundled him in the tiny, blue hooded towel. Her phone sat on the counter—it felt like lifting a weight as she hit the first number on her speed dial.

"Hello?" came a sleepy voice from the other end.

Jane felt her resolve break at the sound of the familiar voice, and fought to keep the emotion from surfacing. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but Conner's crying must have given her identity away.

"Jane, is everything ok?" The voice sounded much more alert now. Jane shook her head before realizing that she couldn't be seen through the receiver. She could hear rustling on the other end.

"He…"

"Conner, is it Conner?"

"He won't stop crying. I can't get him to stop. I don't know what else to do." The words tumbled from her lips and a tear escaped and began its ragged descent down her cheek. _Weakness, defeat._

"I'm already leaving, ok? Everything is fine. I'll be there shortly."

Jane nodded to the phone once more with a sniff. "Ok." She hung-up, and moved to her bedroom to dress him. "Help is on the way. You're going to be fine."

Conner squirmed in the middle of Jane's bed as she hurriedly grabbed his clothes and a diaper from the top of her dresser. She placed the tiny diaper around his body, fastening it securely into place, and eased him into the tiny mint green sleeper that Maura had purchased two days before. Jane had argued that boys shouldn't wear that color, but Maura did not let that deter her. She had made sure that he had everything he could ever need, and really much more. Jane supposed this just gave her another reason to shop. It was cute, really.

Jane began to walk around the room, doing everything she could think of to soothe him. The knock on the door seemed to take a century, but relief washed over her at the sound. She opened the door, revealing a slightly sleep-mussed Maura in the hallway. She ushered her in quickly, knowing that the sounds of Conner's cries were echoing down the halls.

Maura moved into the living room and placed her jacket over the arm of the couch. Jane watched her reach into the pocket and pull out a small box.

"Sorry, it took me a little longer than expected. I stopped by the store on my way over."

Jane looked at her in total confusion. She shifted Conner once more, positioning his head in the crook of her right arm. Jane noticed that Maura was wearing jeans and a simple white t-shirt. _I didn't even know that she owned jeans._

"I'm just glad that you're here. He's been crying for forty minutes." She watched as Maura frowned slightly. She could tell that she was mulling over several ideas in her head.

"When did he eat last?"

"It's probably been close to an hour. He sucked it down so fast. There's no way he's hungry."

"Did you burp him?"

Jane rolled her eyes, "Yes, Maura"

"Jane, I don't doubt your abilities." She placed her hand on Jane's forearm. "I'm just trying to help."

Jane nodded, trying to hold back everything that she was feeling.

"Can I see him?" Maura smiled, comfort exuding from her very presence. Jane handed him to her, her arms suddenly feeling empty.

"If you get him to stop crying in less than five minutes, I am leaving."

"Jane," Maura gave her a disapproving look, "don't say that. You're doing fine."

Jane scoffed, throwing her arms into the air dramatically. "I can't even be alone with him without calling in the troops." She watched as Maura began to examine the tiny form within her arms. She cooed to him and rocked him as she performed her small check-up.

_She's much better at this than I am. _Her mind drifted back to a previous conversation that she had with Maura a few months before. Maura had disclosed to Jane that she was afraid that she wouldn't be a very good mother. "How will I know how to impart the love and affection a child would require if I never received such attention as a child? What if I can't connect with him/her?" Jane had merely laughed, knowing that Maura was too sweet and caring to ever be a bad mother, but watching this moment only solidified her answer. _She would make the perfect mother. It's me who doesn't know how to do this. _Jane felt the tears burning her eyes, threatening to reveal themselves and let her insecurities be known.

"Jane, I know what's wrong with him."

Jane said nothing, merely watched as Maura sank down next to her on the couch. She placed Conner against the pillow, keeping one hand on him the whole time. "Could you open this for me?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. She unwrapped the plastic and removed the small bottle with the rubbery top, handing it to Maura. She read the label on the box, infant gas drops. "Gas, that's it? That's all it was."

Maura placed the small syringe into his mouth and let him suck down the small dosage. She slid her fingers underneath his arms and lifted him into the air. His tiny legs stayed scrunched up underneath him as he continued to cry. She eased back against the couch cushions, placing Conner on her chest, her left hand moving to Jane's knee.

"That's all it was. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I burped him, once after each ounce just like you said to."

Maura gave her a reassuring smile, wanting to pull Jane to her chest and comfort her as well. "Sometimes air just gets trapped. The drops will help ease the pressure in his abdomen. It won't take long."

Jane nodded, unsure of what she was feeling. "Ok, thank you."

Maura only nodded, rubbing small circles against her knee.

Within ten minutes, Conner was asleep against Maura and Jane against the arm of the couch. Maura allowed her eyes to close slowly, loving the moment. She had wanted to stay with Jane at the apartment tonight, and had been slightly hurt when Jane insisted that she stay alone. But she didn't let that feeling last long. She knew Jane Clementine Rizzoli too well to let that hurt her feelings. _She's stubborn and independent. She wants to be able to do this on her own._

Maura admired her strong-willed friend for that. She possessed an emotional strength that Maura was sure that she could never muster. She glanced down at the tiny bundle. He wasn't Jane's, he wasn't Angela's, but they had both taken on the role of caregiver the moment he appeared into their lives. Maura wished for half of the strength that the Rizzoli women had within them. She was afraid that the only thing that she could offer would be physical items that he would need: bottles, pacifiers, clothing, bedding, and those sorts of things.

She so desperately wanted to be a part of Conner's life, but couldn't figure out how she would fit into it. It had become very clear from the moment that Jane walked into her living room with him in her arms that she was his stand-in mother. Maura could see from the look on her face that she was simultaneously falling in love with him, contriving a plan to make a secure home for him, and plotting to kill Lydia, Tommy, and Frank Sr. for leaving him.

Angela had stepped in as the active grandma, helping with feedings and cuddling him when he should probably be sleeping in his bassinet. She didn't care who the father was, she had said on numerous occasions that he couldn't be punished for any of this. He didn't ask for lunatics as parents.

It was obvious that Conner was a Rizzoli, though. No doubt about it. Angela never stopped talking about how much he looks like Jane when she was a baby. It made Maura want to cling to him even more. He was perfect, everything about him. If only she could figure out she fit into the picture. _Wealthy aunt, perhaps?_ No, Maura didn't like the sounds of that. It was pretentious and it made her sound as if she would try to win over his affections with material objects. _Can I show him any other way?_

Maura sighed, trying not to work herself up over it once again. She had worried too much about her place over the past few days. It only mattered that she was here for Jane and Conner when they needed her. And right now, her friend needed to stop laying in that horrible position and move to the bedroom to sleep. She stood up, trying to jostle Conner as little as possible.

"Jane," Maura murmured softly, running her fingers along Jane's hairline. Jane's eyes fluttered open and focused on Maura as best as they could. "Come on."

Jane obeyed, taking Maura's free hand and allowing her to lead her to her bedroom.

Maura placed Conner in his Pack N' Play in the corner, the only thing that would fit in Jane's small room and moved to Jane's dresser. She knew that she kept her pajama pants in the bottom drawer. She pulled out a pair that she knew were slightly worn and loose and eased into them as quietly as possible. She then slid into bed next to Jane.

Jane sensed the shift and moved into Maura's body. She placed her arm around Maura's torso and nestled her head into her side. Maura smiled, looping her left arm around Jane's head. She placed her hand in her hair and began to massage her scalp lightly with her fingernails. Jane relaxed even more so, and Maura believed that her place in Conner's life would surface at some point. She would just have to be patient.

**Thanks for reading! Like I said before, there will most likely be more chapters of this, just not as consistent as Brookside. I hope you're enjoying this, though. I really do love to write it.**


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